For The First Time
by ADAM'S GALS
Summary: A prequel. Everyone has to have that first young love, and this is Adam's story. This is our second collaboration story and is much lighter than our first.


For The First Time

Hoss sauntered into the house with a grin, a stack of mail, and a bag of lemon drops. He had that look of a cat that ate the canary, and Little Joe had to ask what secret he had.

"Oh, ain't no secret. I was jest remembering old Adam's big old disaster when he first started in to chasing gals. I watched the stage come on into town today, and this gal got off the stage. She had the prettiest chestnut hair and green eyes you ever did see. Reminded me so much of that gal Adam was chasing after when he was about sixteen or seventeen as I recall."

"I was fifteen, and I wasn't chasing after her at all. I was interested, and it didn't work out."

"Oh, yeah. It sure didn't." Hoss laughed that booming laugh of his. "I was only nine then, I reckon, but that was shur some not working out."

"Tell me, tell me!" Little Joe wanted to know the story.

Adam though was transported back in time to the first day he saw Beverly climb down from her parents' big Conestoga wagon as her father announced they had found a good place to settle as he looked around at the town. Adam decided then and there that she was the one he was going to marry. It didn't quite work out that way though especially because the first time she met him, she told him that she didn't go out with a boy just because he introduced himself so nicely. Adam was quite taken by surprise. He had hoped she would like him, but she turned and walked away leaving Adam standing shocked at what hadhappened.

"Excuse me, Beverly. I wasn't asking to escort you to any event. I was only offering to show you around town because I didn't think you would know your way around town. I've lived here for eight years now so I know the people and the places. I'm sorry if my offer offended you."

Beverly's shoulders pulled back as her neck stiffened. "It's all right, Adam. You didn't offend me. It's just that I can't get involved with 'local boys.' You see, I'm going to be an actress one day, and marry Charles Thurgood, the Third."

Adam nodded as he suppressed a grin. "The third, huh?

"Yes. He's rich, and we'll live in a mansion, and he'll make me famous. So you can understand if you're too pedestrian for me." She blinked coyly. "I can explain what that means. "

Adam cut her off. "I know exactly what it means, and I'm sorry that I wasted your time."

As he walked away, Beverly called. "Well there might be one thing you could do for me...

"You could escort me to the General Store. I suppose it carries the latest books, doesn't it? I am simply enthralled with the poems of Mr. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and am simply dying to read his new collection of poetry. I presume that you have heard of Mr. Longfellow, haven't you?"

Adam smiled rather eagerly at her and replied, "Yes, I am familiar with his poetry. My Pa bought me a book of his earlier poems."

"Oh, do you read? I mean, I didn't realize that you local boys had time to pursue any intellectual activities what with working the mines and ranches." Beverly looked Adam up and down and decided that he was not bad for a country bumpkin.

He laughed a short laugh. "Yes, Miss, I work very hard on our ranch but also find time for my education. How about accompanying me to the store and we will see if the book is available?"

Beverly took his offered arm and they strolled down the street. Adam shyly glanced at her and thought to himself that she had to be the prettiest girl he had ever seen in these parts. Beverly's haughty personality relaxed on their walk and she seemed almost pleasant by the time they reached the store. However, her mood quickly changed when Dave Cass, Will Cass's oldest son, came up to her as soon as they entered.

"What's a pretty gal like you doing with Adam Cartwright?" he asked as he pulled her away from Adam's arm. "You should be with a good lookin' guy like me, not some cow puncher like him."

Beverly yanked away, stood back and gave both boys a hateful stare. "See what I mean!" She looked at Adam and stomped her foot. "I've been in town ten minutes, and you frightful country people are already fighting over me. You all just want to tie a woman to the stove by her apron strings, and have her help you run a store or milk cows on your ranch." Her look became imperious. "I want more from my life, I was given top billing in a play at the St. Louis Conservatory for Young Thespians before we started out on this horrible journey, and I will be on a stage in San Francisco one day soon."

Adam's look was dumbfounded. "I assure you, Miss Beverly, that I have no intention of tying you to anything," His shock turned to good humor as he looked again at her soft, long hair, and the perfect curve of her lips and other parts. "But I did promise to show you some good books of poetry. So if you'll come this way?"

Beverly let Adam lead her to the minute collection of poetry books carried by the store. She looked at the titles disdainfully and turned to leave. "I have read all of these. Do they ever get newly published books out here in the semi-civilized world?" she asked as she flaunted away.

Adam was dismayed and feeling an unknown warmth spreading throughout him as he watched her turn and leave. "She'll never love anyone like me, just a boy working on his pa's old ranch. I should just forget about her." Still, Adam could not help the feeling that was building up inside of him. "What is happening to me? I cannot seem to breathe right and am feeling so funny inside. I do want to kiss her lips, but I know that it isn't proper even if she lets me. I need to have Beverly be as attracted to me as I am to her, but what can I do?" Adam followed Beverly out of the store with these strange new and very unsettling feelings pulsating through his mind and body.

"Um, Miss Beverly, maybe we could order you the new book. It won't take long to come."

"How long?"

"Only a week or two if they have it in San Francisco."

Beverly looked at Adam "Are you sure?"

"Yes, um, Miss, it's not too long to wait, really, not a few weeks; well all right, maybe it is. Perhaps I could buy you a cup of coffee?"

"I only drink tea."

"Of course, then let me buy you a cup of tea?"

Adam smiled showing those dimples, and they both went back into the store to order the book of poems that Beverly wanted. After they had tea Adam walked with Beverly around town.

"Miss Beverly, do you like to go riding?"

"Yes, sometimes. Why?"

"I wondered if maybe we could go riding. I could show you a lot more places." He had a sound of excitement in his voice.

"What sort of places?"

"On the Ponderosa, we have beautiful places where you can sit, and the view is really pretty,

"I don't know."

"Miss Beverly I only want to show you the lovely view. Honest, nothing else." Adam's face was turning red.

"You are turning scarlet!" She was laughing. "All right, I will go riding with you. When would you like to show me the lovely view?"

"Would tomorrow afternoon be acceptable? I have to do my chores in the morning, but I have the afternoon off." Adam looked at Beverly with so much excitement on his face that she couldn't refuse him.

Beverly smiled. "Yes, I will."

Adam swallowed hard. "Good, I mean, you will come?"

"You just asked me, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. I didn't think that yes would be the answer though."

"Well, do you want to take me riding or not?"

"Yes, of course, I do."

"Now, I must go. Goodbye, til tomorrow then."

Adam stood and watched her walk away, then with the biggest smile on his face. He jumped into the air punching towards the sky. He walked to get his horse and rode home with a smile.

The next day, Adam showed up at Beverly's family wagon in a small buggy. When her father had heard that a young man from the area was coming to call, he'd asked around and found out that the Cartwrights owned a large spread that was getting bigger and more prosperous with each year. He'd advised his daughter to be "Nice" to this young man. He didn't expect that she'd marry the boy, just that she wouldn't put him off and offend him like she had so many others in the towns they'd stopped in along the way west.

"Good morning, Adam." She looked up at the buggy. "I thought you said we would go riding today."

Adam could barely hear her. His heart was beating so fast he could barely breathe. She was in a form-fitting dress that dipped in the front to reveal a bit of her…chest…. He didn't want to even think about what was peeking out from that neckline. It was too late though. It was all he could think about now. He brought his gaze upward, but it didn't help the heat that was building in parts of his body he had never thought about before. Her hair framed her face that seemed like porcelain washed with pink in the morning light; her eyes sparkled like the crystals in a chandelier, and her mouth…. Oh, dear, what he'd like to do with that mouth. The inklings he was experiencing continued to grow so he remained in the buggy to let the fire in his body tamp to embers instead of the flames burning within him. "Good morning," he finally managed to squeak out. "I didn't know if you knew how to ride, so I figured we go out to our place, and then switch to horses for the tour."

"I don't 'know' how to ride," She snorted. "But how hard can it be? You sit up on that saddle contraption and kick the horse in the side. Why would I have to learn much about doing that?"

His eyes rolled as he thought about all the times he'd fallen or been tossed from a horse as he'd learned to ride. "Maybe we'll just use the buggy today. You're dressed so nice, that I wouldn't want you to get dirty. And this way we can bypass the house until later and just head out to the lake." He was finally ready to face her standing upright, and got down from the buggy. Her parents had been watching from the side of their wagon, so he went over to introduce himself and explain his plans for the day. "I'll have her home by late afternoon," he promised.

He helped her into the vehicle and they headed out for their adventure. Adam's dance with passion was replaced by uneasiness that made his hands sweat, and the silence that hung over them was unnerving him. He finally said

"Our ranch is a few miles from here. I think it's the most beautiful sight around, for land, I mean." He stammered as his face once again acquired a reddish glow. "My pa, brother, and I came out here in a wagon, too, but not as nice as yours", he hastily assured her.

Beverly glared at him, "This is only a temporary means of transportation. My father is going to buy us the finest carriage available as soon as we decide whether or not to remain in Virginia City. Humph, Virginia City: now that is the most absurd name for that group of ramshackle buildings! Is that what they consider a city here in the West? Back East, we would barely acknowledge it as a village. Why on earth does your face keep getting so red?" Remembering that her father had urged her to be nice to the boy, Beverly looked up at him with a smile and concerned look. "I do hope you're not ill! Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Adam could not speak because he was overwhelmed with a combination of those feelings coursing through his body and the desire to reach over and kiss those lips and touch those ..."No, I can't keep thinking about her chest or her lips and how soft and sweet they must be," he thought as he fought with his desire. "N-n-n-no, I am well. It just must be the s-s-sun shining on me." He finally managed to stammer out as he resolutely kept his eyes on the road. The ride to the ranch continued in awkward silence. After what seemed like an eternity, Adam pulled up in front of the ranch house, climbed down out of the buggy, and offered any extremely sweaty hand to Beverly to help her down.

Beverly nearly fell out of the buggy when she touched his sweaty hand. Inwardly she shuddered but, barely remembering her father's words about being nice, she collected herself and smiled a tight smile as she looked around. "This is not what I expected the house of a successful rancher to look like. It looks like a large log cabin!"

Adam looked around and, instead of the fine house that he and Pa had proudly worked so hard to build, he saw just what Beverly had described, a large log cabin house that was not at all impressive to this woman of his dreams and desires. "Would you like to go inside and meet my mother and little brothers?"

"No, you brought me out here to ride and to show me the beautiful sights, so let's do that," she said not at all concerned or curious about a rancher's wife or Adam's younger brothers.

Adam led her to the barn and asked her to wait outside while he saddled the two horses. He knew that it would be impossible for him to saddle the horses in front of her because he was so nervous. After preparing the horses, Adam led them out to the yard and held Dolly's reins so that Beverly could mount her.

Beverly had never been on a horse before. "How do I get on?" she asked Adam.

"Here, let me help you. Put your left foot in the stirrup and swing .." Adam blushed again as he realized that a girl should ride side saddle. He wasn't sure how to go about helping her with that since he did not think Marie would let him borrow her saddle. Finally he decided to tell Beverly to sit astride Dolly.

"How do I climb over her back?" demanded Beverly.

Adam realized that he was going to have to help her, and he would have to touch her. The thought of that turned his insides into a mass of warm jelly. He walked to her side and told her what he was going to do. As he lifted her up, time seemed to stand still. Adam, mesmerized by her eyes, could only stare as he fought the desire to kiss her.

Beverly, wondered at her own reaction to being so close to Adam. "My, he certainly is good looking and so strong," she thought to herself as he raised her onto the horse's back. The spell was quickly broken when she accidentally kicked Dolly's side and the horse took off running.

Adam had trouble getting his foot into the stirrup. He was as nervous as a cat, but once he was mounted he took off after his fair damsel. He found her dangling from a tree limb out in the pasture.

"Are you hurt?" He asked in a shaky voice?"

"No. Just get me down from here. That crazy horse tried to kill me when it ran under these low branches."

He reached up and grabbed her waist as he helped her down. "Or maybe riding a horse isn't as simple as you thought."

They were facing each other and the closeness of her body as he held her made his heart race. He couldn't fight it anymore so he leaned down to give into his strong desire to kiss her. Just as their lips were ready to touch, a small boy's giggle was heard behind Adam. Adam jumped back causing Beverly to fall forward and landing on the ground at Adam's feet. Adam, not knowing what to do, reached out to help Beverly up while sputtering in a loud voice "Little Joe, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be gone from the house without someone with you." But then Adam realized that Hoss was there too. In his embarrassment, he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing and grabbed Beverly's breast as he reached to help her up without looking. He knew that what was in his hand was much too soft to be her arm but didn't let go soon enough. She screamed at him and jumped up to slap his face. He jerked back, Hoss was shocked, and Little Joe started to cry. Dolly took off running.

"Beverly I am sorry."

"You stay away from me Adam Cartwright!"

"But Beverly I didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry."

"I want to go home and never want to see you again."

"Please let explain."

"You stay away from me. Wait until I tell my father about you."

Little Joe was still crying. "Please, Little Joe, don't cry. It's all right. Hoss, please, take Joe home and don't say anything to Pa about this. Beverly, let me take you home. I'll get the horse back, and I'll go get the buggy. Please, wait here. I won't be long."

Adam rushed off after Dolly. He was worried now about what Beverly would say to her father. "How am I going to get out of this mess. If Pa finds out, I'll be working in the barn for months."

Beverly was still very upset as Adam ran off. "How dare he do that to me! Treating me like a common farm girl," she fumed. But the more she thought about it, she calmed down and even began to have the beginning of a smile as she remembered those few seconds when they had stood so close together. "He is so handsome and not at all crude as were so many of those boys I met on our journey out here." She began to experience the beginnings of some new sensations throughout her body as she thought more and more about the near kiss. Suddenly, she wanted that kiss to happen and to feel his arms holding her and his lips touching hers. As engrossed as she was in a daydream about kissing Adam, she did not hear him returning until he cleared his throat.

Adam, still extremely nervous and frightened about what she would tell her father and what both her father and his would do to him after they found out what had happened, stammered, "I-i-l-l take you home now. It was an accident. I never would have touched you there on purpose!" Adam was very surprised when Beverly looked up at him with a smile on her face and in her eyes.

She softly said, "I know it was. Don't worry, I won't tell my father."

"That is, I won't tell my father if you kiss me like you were going to before this all happened."

Adam couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was so confusing. Being with a female was a lot more complicated than he had ever thought it would be. He wondered if perhaps he needed to talk with Marie about this kind of thing because the day had gone so strangely and he was a wreck. He wasn't sure if he could do this again. It was exhausting. On the other hand, she had said she wanted him to kiss her so there was something very good that was going to happen. He put his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her. As his lips touched hers, it felt like sparks flew from him to her and then he heard his father's voice calling for him.

"It's getting late, Adam. You need to take Beverly home now.

Adam turned to look at the house disappointed that the kiss was once more interrupted and saw Hoss looking back at him. Hoss grabbed at his own chest as if he had a large breast and then very dramatically put his hand over his heart and looked to heaven before he started that big booming laugh he already had at nine years old. Adam saw his father watching Hoss and knew there would be questions later. He told Beverly that he was sorry but their day was at an end and that he would have to hurry to get her home by the proper time. As he drove, he had uncomfortable cramps and should have stopped to relieve the pressure building inside of him, but couldn't imagine how you tell a young woman that you needed to go pass some gas so he put up with the discomfort but was relieved when he got to their place. However when he stood and bent to jump down from the buggy, nature took its course. The resulting sound probably could be heard by her parents standing one hundred feet away. Beverly had to be shocked by it, but he was mortified. He could barely bring himself to look at her as he rounded the buggy and put up his hand to help her down. She seemed reluctant to even touch him at that point. He didn't even dare suggest seeing her again but did stammer out that it had been a wonderful day. The feel of her breast in his hand immediately came to mind and made him stammer even more. It seemed that memory had overruled all the others he had of the day and probably would obliterate even that last sorry event eventually.

Adam's thought returned to the present where his brothers were standing over him wearing expectant looks.

"You only saw that girl, but once, right, Adam? What happened? I thought you was pretty interested."

"Ah...he stammered just as he had all those years ago, and tried not to smile. "That first encounter didn't go as well as I'd planned, and something 'came out' at the end of the day that made seeing her again impossible."

Hoss and Joe pestered him to explain, but he just smiled. "Didn't she run off later to be an actress in San Francisco?" Hoss asked when he figured out his other question wouldn't be answered.

"Yup. The only acting job I ever heard about was her playing Lady Longlegs in a saloon revue. I guess she was dressed in black like a spider and had to...well you know what those revues are like."

They all chuckled, and then Hoss and Joe started to walk away. But the middle brother looked back and said, "I do remember something about that day, older brother."

"Oh yeah? I suppose you recall that she was hanging in a tree after thinking she could ride a horse without learning how."

Hoss chuckled. "Yup, I do remember that, but it was more this that I recall." He turned to face little Joe and made a grasping motion toward the younger brother's chest as he hollered, "Honk, honk." Adam's face was turning purple as reached for the book next to the chair and tossed it toward the pair. It connected low with Hoss' boot and the duo walked toward the kitchen groping the air in front of them and laughing until they were in tears.

Adam waited until they were gone, and then laughed too. "Some things just need to be forgotten, but that's nearly impossible with those two around," He said aloud. He sighed deeply as he put his head back and recalled one last time how it felt to hold a beautiful young woman in his arms for the first time.


End file.
